I met a truly good man today

A devout Christian, African-American, who has seen his share of hard times yet feels God's presence in his life.

I'm posting about him here because of the "God" thread in Breaking News right now: the usual sarcasm, dismissiveness, "the smarter the person, the less likely he/she is to believe in God," etc.

I can't help but think of this man today; not terribly educated, but brighter than most people; very critical of hypocritical Christians yet strongly feeling it is not his place to judge anyone. "We are all God's children, no matter what our race, sexual orientation, etc.," he says. "I try to treat everyone the same."

It's rare I meet someone who made me feel so good, so I thought I'd share him with you all.

Encounters like that tend to give me a little hope in a seemingly hopeless world.

We get into a lot of religious squabbles here at DU -- plus some fairly ridiculous ones on a national level, and I'm talking about both sides of the debate -- and to meet this man of such pure faith ... well, it was quite inspiring.

I'm sure it was a pleasure to meet and speak with him. Congrats on being a person who knows a wise person when he or she sees one.

:toast:

Jesus came to my congregation here in my first year, in the form of an African-American woman. She walked the streets of this town, greeting and meeting everyone, and leaving a lasting impression on all. In one of our last conversations, she said to me "The Spirit rests upon you, and is in you. They need you here - the whole city, not just this congregation. Don't ever give up."

I believe Jesus comes to us when we least expect it.

I kind of felt that way. Like I'd experienced God's presence in this one person. I can count on one hand the times that's happened to me.

voice of God.

It happened to me two summers ago when I was very troubled about a personal problem, and I heard one of my fellow choir members say--in a context completely removed from my situation--exactly what I needed to here. She was not talking to me, and she did not know me well enough to know of my problem, but she said exactly the right thing.

Another time, many years ago, when life felt hopeless and I felt trapped, a friend wrote back in response to my Christmas letter to say, in essence, that I was in the wrong environment and underachieving (and not in a good way) and that I needed to make a change.

When my goddaughter was a senior in high school, she had a bad attitude and no direction, despite being very bright. In that case, my mother took her aside and acted as the voice of God, sketching out two alternative futures for her, one if she kept on her current path (ending up as yet another impoverished rural single mother, like her older sister), and another if she changed (the sky was the limit). Mom must have been authoritative, because my goddaughter got her act together and now has a responsible job and a nice husband and children.

I think we recognize the voice of God when we hear it, because it makes us think, "Yeah, you're right. I hate to admit it, but you're right."